CIGRE 2025 Montréal Symposium: Final Report – Part 2
Grid Enhancement, Strategic Planning, Technological Innovation and Climatic Adaptation for Resilient Future Energy Systems
Montreal - Canada
29 September - 3 October 2025
This year, the Symposium replaced the annual CIGRE Canada Conference, which traditionally accepts papers from all 16 Study Committees (SCs). To maintain continuity in technical exchange, submissions from all SCs were welcomed. Although 11 of the 16 SCs were formally represented on the Technical Committee, the remaining SCs also contributed to the event’s success. The Symposium further enhanced its technical program with a dedicated section on EHV & UHV AC and DC systems.
Table 1 presents an overview of the number of paper sessions, papers, tutorials, and workshops submitted by each Study Committee, and the following sections summarize their technical content. All papers will be made available to CIGRE members on eCIGRE.
| Study Committee | Number of Paper Sessions | Number of Papers | Tutorials | Workshops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Participating Study Committees | A1 Power Generation and Electromechanical Energy Conversion | 6 | 38 | 1 |
|
A2 Power Transformers and Reactors | 7 | 43 | 1 |
| |
A3 Transmission and Distribution Equipment | 7 | 43 | 2 | Jointly with B5 | |
B2 Overhead Lines | 12 | 83 | 1 | 1 | |
B3 Substations and Electrical Installations | 6 | 37 | 2 |
| |
B4 DC Systems and Power Electronics | 8 | 55 | 3 |
| |
C1 Power System Development and Economics | 6 | 43 | 1 |
| |
C3 Power System Sustainability and Environmental Performance | 1 | 6 |
|
| |
C4 Power System Technical Performance | 5 | 29 |
| 1 | |
C5 Electricity Markets and Regulation | 6 | 26 |
| 1 | |
C6 Active Distribution Systems and Distributed Energy Resources | 7 | 47 |
|
| |
EHV & UHV AC and DC | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| |
Supporting Study Committees | B1 Insulated Cables | 2 | 11 |
|
|
B5 Protection and Automation | 5 | 32 |
|
| |
C2 Power System Operation and Control | 4 | 24 |
|
| |
D1 Materials and Emerging Test Techniques | 1 | 2 |
|
| |
D2 Information Systems Telecommunications and Cybersecurity | 2 | 14 |
|
| |
| Total | 86 | 537 | 12 | 4 |
Paper Sessions
Figure 1 - Co-Chairs Khayakazi Dioka and Alexandra Pilon in an engaging A2 session
The paper sessions addressed the following topics for each Study Committee:
SC A1: Partial discharge, AI & ML applications, condition monitoring & assessment, and asset management.
SC A2: Renewables applications, asset management, AI and digitalization, arcing fault containment, materials and environment, monitoring, testing and diagnostics, and modelling.
SC A3: Reliability, SF₆ alternatives, SF₆ alternatives, SF₆ replacement in switchgear by natural origin gases, HVDC and asset management, circuit breaker applications, and instrument transformers.
SC B1: Smart diagnostics and climate-resilient strategies for cable systems, innovations and monitoring in HV/MV cable systems.
SC B2: Tower design and resilient foundations, conductor dynamics, icing solutions, HTLS technologies, Dynamic Line Rating and weather-based forecasting, AI-driven inspection, smart installation, and digital monitoring, EMI, HVDC, corona, and uprating strategies; and diagnostic advances for insulators.
Figure 2 - Session SC B2-5 DLR and weather-driven insights for transmission line management
SC B3: AI and robotic applications, monitoring and asset management, substation concepts, EHV & UHV AC and DC topics
SC B4: HVDC/FACTS – interaction & coupling, HVDC – project planning, design & testing, HVDC – control, protection & performance, multiterminal HVDC, meshed AC/DC systems, FACTS – application, design, control & performance, HVDC/FACTS – reliability, performance, monitoring and cybersecurity, application of real time simulation and hardware in the loop in HVDC/FACTS/IBRs.
SC B5: Fault location, auto reclosing, controlled switching, wide-area measurements, experience with fully digital PACS, renewable energy and apparatus protection, line protection, commissioning, testing, setting and configuration.
SC C1: Interconnectors, renewable energy sources, demand & storage, congestion, curtailment, reliability, adequacy and uncertainty, hydrogen, heat, multi-energy systems and planning, asset management, PMUS, VPPS and climate change.
Figure 3 - SC C1 sessions
SC C2: Advanced control, optimization, and resilience in modern power systems, resilient grid operations, operational strategies and tools for enhancing grid resilience and management, advanced methods for stability and reserve management in renewable power systems.
SC C3: Technology innovation, studies, and solutions for a more sustainable and resilient power system.
SC C4: Power quality and insulation coordination, advanced simulation methods and models for stability analysis, and enhanced stability support capabilities in IBR-dominated systems.
SC C5: Retail market and local communities, data analytics with the electricity markets, markets and regulation to support reliable and resilient power systems, flexibility integration into electricity markets, wholesale market settlement and pricing, schemes to support the energy transition.
SC C6: Microgrid applications, innovative uses of battery storage, planning applications for improved distribution system management, active management of modern, reliability and resilience measures for active distribution systems, energy efficiency applications in buildings and distribution systems, flexibility management in distribution systems.
SC D1: Innovative solutions for PD mitigation and eco-friendly insulation in HV systems.
SC D2: Cybersecurity and smart communications for resilient power grids, AI-driven innovation and cybersecurity in modern power grids.
EHV & UHV AC and DC: Operation and maintenance of EHV equipment.
Best Paper Awards
During the gala dinner, the Study Committee chairs presented the best paper awards to the selected authors. These papers will be published in the CIGRE Science & Engineering (CSE) journal.
Best NGN paper and best student paper awards were presented during the NGN Reception.
Tutorials
SC A1: The blackout of the Iberian Peninsula on April 28, 2025, Miguel Cordoba (ES).
SC A2: TB 445 Guide on transformer maintenance, Claude Rajotte (CA).
SC A3: WG A3.45 Method for determining the frequency response characteristic of voltage measurement systems, Erik Sperling (CH).
Figure 4 - Tutorial by Erik Sperling (CH), Convenor WG A3.45
SC A3: WG A3.50 On-site calibration and verification of the accuracy of instrument transformers, Paolo Mazza (IT), Gabriella Crotti (IT), Felix Feustel (AT), Farnoosh Rahmatian (CA).
Figure 5 - Tutorial by Paolo Mazza (IT), Convener WG A3.50, Gabriella Crotti (IT), Felix Feustel (AT), Farnoosh Rahmatian (CA)
SC B2: Assessment of the methodologies to analyse wind induced overhead line conductor motion, Giuseppe Bucca (IT).
SC B3: TB 869 Battery Energy Storage Solutions (BESS), Suriya Prungkhwunmuang (TH), Napat Chatrung (TH).
SC B3: TB 886 Guidelines for fire risk management in substations, Shinki Noguchi (JP), Akira Okada (JP), John Randolph (US).
SC B4: WG B4.89 Condition health monitoring and predictive maintenance of HVDC converter stations, Nadine Chapalain (FR), Rick Valiquette (CA), Guillaume Gallet (FR), Huai Wang (DK), Guy Clerc (FR).
SC B4: WG B4.90 Operation and maintenance of HVDC and FACTS facilities, Les Brand (AU), Geethma Dissanayake (NZ).
SC B4: AG B4.04 Protocol for reporting operational performance of HVDC systems and FACTS, Joshua Burrough (US).
SC C1: The potential roles of energy storage in electric power systems, P. Jeffrey Palermo (US).
EHV & UHV: Effects of DC bias on power transformers influence of geomagnetically induced currents on grid operation, Patrick Picher (CA), Afshin Rezaei-Zare (CA), Stefan Tenbohlen (DE).
Workshops
SC A3 & B5: Digitalization of switchgear: Implementation experience and integration with the protection world, Frank Richter (DE) moderator, René Doche (CA), Jimeno Fonseca (CH), Michel Gauvin (CA), Volker Leitloff (FR), Farnoosh Rahmatian (CA), François Trichon (FR), Nenad Uzelac (US).
Figure 6 - SC A3 & B5 workshop
SC B2: Adapting design practices: Evolving requirements for overhead transmission lines structures (2000-2025), Sébastien Langlois (CA) moderator, John McCormack (AU), Bing Lin (AU), Joao Batista da Silva (BR), Pierre-Jean Rioux (CA), Leon Kempner (US).
SC C4: Role of wide-area EMT simulations in IBR-dominated power systems, David Jacobson (CA), Marta Val Escudero (IR), Benoît Delourme (CA), Yannick Vernay (FR), Yousef Pipelzadeh (UK), Jean Bélanger (CA), Flavio Fernandez (DE), Jean Mahseredjian (CA), Kumura Mudunlotuwa (CA), Paul Forsyth (CA).
SC C5: Retail electricity markets and competition, Alexandre Viana (BR).
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